Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, & PC)

Looking for a game like Hades, especially with Hades II upon us, slated to launch out of Early Access on September 25, 2025? Perhaps Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree might keep those roguelike juices flowing. If you happened to catch a glimpse of its trailer, you’ll know how absolutely beautiful and charming the visuals and environments are. 

The paint anime-style graphics reel you in with ease, and take you on a purely adorable and relaxing fantasy journey. Well, relaxing at least as far as exploration goes, as the other side of the coin holds a most brutal combat affair. Dying in roguelike games is inevitable. But a good game will give you ways to polish your game and come back stronger. 

Is Brownies and Bandai Namco’s new title a good game? Does it even match Hades’ to begin with? Let’s find out all you can expect in a playthrough via our Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree review below.

Phoenix Rise from the Ashes

I get it. A new franchise needs its time to set the stage and delve into the lore. Certainly a lot for players to learn and become acquainted with a new universe. But even with movies or books, not everything is dished out in the first scene. When there’s a lot to cover about the history of the people, their plight, and the mission ahead, it can be easy to cram it all within the first few minutes. And that’ll only overwhelm the player, losing touch with the story before it even begins.

This is the plight Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree face in the beginning few minutes of its story. You’re met with way too many dialogue and story points than you have time to process, let alone involve your emotions. You’re introduced to a world with so much history, mumbled by alternate timelines, goddesses, and prayer children (guardians) who don’t age across the timelines, and the antagonist, Magatsu, and his minions, Magaori. I could get into the story, but it gets confusing with its many complexities to form an emotional or compelling bond.

And so, I’ll proceed to the actual characters, who don’t disappoint in their model and design. You engage with anime-inspired, distinct personalities, from the goddess, Towa, to the eight guardians who fight beside her, and the townsfolk of Shinju Village. From humanoid fish to clumsy swordsmen, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree really put considerable effort into diversifying characters. Further, NPCs age over the decade that passes whenever you defeat a boss. And over time, pass away, while the next generation takes their place. Rebirth and renewal are vital themes you explore whenever you revisit Shinju Village, discovering that a lot has changed in the time you were gone.

Symphony of Light and Sound

If only the writing held strong as well in communicating emotional resonance, because the character performances certainly do a splendid job. There are too many words being said that you don’t necessarily care for, and will be just fine skipping over. Too many significant moments that merely brush over you. Even when a guardian is supposed to die to relinquish the mana they hold and sustain the cleansing of the world from the Magatsu ancient evil, you hardly shed a tear for them. It’s a shame because unfolding the narrative is a huge part of your playthrough. And the fuel for the repeated runs you put yourself through to save Shinju village.

At least the world looks beautiful. Just as the trailers predicted, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree look absolutely stunning. Even in its isometric perspective, the detail and special effects during battle look exquisite. And the music by legendary Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII, Tekken 6, and more) himself seals off the audio-visual design package with a bow.

Making High-Risk Moves

Risk-taking seems to be Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree’s specialty. Some you might have played through in other games, while others are entirely far-fetched and unique. Take the dual-character system, for instance. Certainly exciting, giving you the option to switch between them, allowing the second character to be controlled by the computer, or tag along with a buddy in local or online co-op.

The primary character takes Surugi’s role (sword-wielding fighter) while the secondary takes Kagura’s (staff-wielding supporter). Both characters control smoothly and responsively, with Surugi moving swiftly. And Kagura will follow you, boosting your attack and defense with magic. But in single-player, Kagura can be a nuisance, catching random damage when they don’t duck quickly enough. And with their health draining quicker, they become a liability. 

In co-op, I assume most will want to play Surugi, who has more command over the battlefield. They also have more leeway in abilities, switching between swords to relieve depleting durability. Speaking of, if you can switch swords to replenish durability, then what need is there to experiment? Anyway, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree goes on to add a ten-step sword crafting and forging process. And yes, you’re probably thinking it’s game-changing to have control over how exactly you want your sword to look: how sharp, curved, and even the look. All are keyed in by QTE responses, which boost your stats based on your accuracy. But after a few times of tinkering around, you’ll probably shortcut your way through the redundant process altogether. 

Meat on the Bone

Where the meat on Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree’s bone lies is the actual combat. By which, you’ll mostly rely on the sword of your choice to dispatch enemies. Sword swings are pretty satisfying, especially with the special effects that cover the entire arena. It corresponds to the AoE attacks enemies gravitate toward, forcing you to remain constantly on the move. Enemy types are pretty decent, with some fascinating adaptations of Japanese folklore. But beyond that, the combat grows quickly repetitive and boring. This is a roguelike that channels you through multiple runs that end with a boss fight. Inevitably, you’ll die and need to replenish your upgrades and resources, which you do so at Shinju Village, serving as the hub area.

Here, you can exchange ore for upgrades that permanently remain in your arsenal even after death. And you can boost your character stats and abilities, too, by upgrading the buildings in Shinju Village. And overall, these opportunities to level up ensure every new run has better odds of winning. You don’t feel it’s a waste of time to redo levels, trying to beat that pesky boss at the end of the run. As far as your abilities and weapons go, they are varied enough to switch your play style. Yet, when you find your go-to sword, there’s little motivation to drop it, even with the durability; you can easily double-switch swords to replenish. As such, you’ll use the same strategies and attacks against enemies for it to begin to feel repetitive. 

Over and Over Again

And the guardian variety won’t do much to switch up the pace, with little motivation to experiment with them all. As soon as you find the guardian whose abilities gel well with your play style, you’ll likely stick with them for the rest of your playthrough. Granted, guardians have to die later on to give up their mana. At which point you’ll probably have squeezed every ounce of fun from Towa’s compact combat arenas. 

Verdict

Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree pretty much had the opportunity to stand out from the crowd, with its alternate timelines story where NPCs age in the Shinju Village hub, giving rise to new generations. The emotional impact the game could have had from losing NPCs you grow to love. The stories the game could have maximized in the cycle of time. And in some ways, you do feel for the souls that are lost. And feel a sense of rebirth when newborns grow up to fill their places. But for the most part, the engrossing aspect of the overarching narrative falls short.

Meanwhile, gameplay takes risks, too, implementing a dual-character system and a profound sword forging process. But the secondary character ends up being a liability in intense combat scenarios. Sword forging, on the other hand, becomes redundant over time and may as well be skipped altogether. 

For a roguelike, repetition is a tough place to find yourself in, given that the core aspect of the genre relies on redoing levels until you beat them. That satisfaction of finally beating a tough boss is often what makes it all worth it. But even that doesn’t come with Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree, whose runs grow more bland and boring over time. Only a few runs are enough to appreciate the striking artwork. But after that, you’ll be well ready to hop on to the next game.